1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fence guards and more particularly pertains to a vegetation barrier which may be positioned along the bottom edge of a fence.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of vegetation barriers around fences is well known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,713,624, which issued to F. Niemann on Jan. 30, 1973, discloses a fence guard for restricting the growth of grass, weeds and the like directly adjacent to or beneath a fence. The guard essentially comprises a length of material which is L-shaped in cross-section, and a pair of these fence guards are adapted to be affixed together on opposed sides of a fence so as to secure them against displacement.
A similar construction is to be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,768,780 which issued to Cowles et al on Oct. 30, 1973. This patent discloses a fence border designed to eliminate the need of trimming grass under a fence and consists of a pair of side by side panels interconnected by a spreadable accordion pleat element, thereby to facilitate a positioning of the border beneath the bottom edge of a fence.
Another vegetation barrier of interest is to be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,806,096 which issued to Eccleston et al on Apr. 23, 1974. This barrier comprises a shell which telescopically receives a core member and is positioned on the ground area to restrict growth of vegetation immediately beneath a fence element.
Also of interest is U.S. Pat. No. 3,822,864 which issued to G. Keys on Jul. 9, 1974 and which is directed to a weed barrier for fencing. In this construction, nestable and telescopic channel shaped members are disposed and secured along the ground beneath fence wire, thereby to inhibit weed and vegetation growth.
A final patent of interest is U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,472 which issued to J. Johnson on Feb. 5, 1985 and which is directed to a vegetation blocking fence edging assembly. A plurality of elongated edging strips are positionable beneath a fence so as to inhibit vegetation growth substantially in the same manner as the above-discussed patents.
As can be appreciated, the above patents illustrate the fact that vegetation guards beneath fencing represent a crowded art which is further indicative of the substantial need for such guards. As such, there is a continuing need for improved forms of such guards whereby they might be more easily installed and more economically manufactured. In this respect, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.